Danny Parkins is officially joining First Things First as the show expands its daily lineup.
The Nick Wright, Kevin Wildes, and Chris Broussard-led program is adding a third hour — from 5 to 6 p.m. ET — following FS1’s recent cancellations of Breakfast Ball, The Facility, and Speak. According to Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel, Parkins will headline this new hour. He joined FS1 a year ago from Chicago’s 670 The Score, where he was a key part of Breakfast Ball.
With FS1 facing a significant gap in its daytime schedule, the network quickly unveiled a major new partnership with Barstool Sports. That deal includes a Barstool-produced show airing from 8 to 10 a.m. ET out of Chicago, with replays following for two hours. Barstool founder Dave Portnoy will also join Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff college football pregame show as part of the agreement.
Still, FS1 had one more hole to fill, especially after reports suggested Parkins would soon land a new role, given his multi-year contract with the network.
Parkins reacted to the new career development during an appearance on Colin Cowherd’s eponymous podcast for The Volume, where he shared his thoughts on joining First Things First and reflected on what lies ahead.
“Happy to be Joe Morgan,” Parkins joked in response to Cowherd’s quip that he’s the perfect No. 3 hitter, like the legendary Sunday Night Baseball announcer.
“Listen, it’s so surreal,” Parkins continued. “First Things First is arguably the best show in sports TV, fronted by my best friend for 20 years, and I’m getting added to it. It’s a tremendous honor. I will do everything in my power not to mess it up, because they have an incredibly good thing going. It’s fun to create a new thing. Obviously, I’m bummed about Breakfast Ball. We were having fun, and I was looking forward to another football season to see what we could build there. It’s a very tough business. And I’m just really thankful and excited for the opportunity.
“And like, that’s a cliché, but First Things First, the production team is incredible. Wildes is a TV genius. Everyone in the world loves [Broussard]. He’s just in a good mood every day. Nick is one of the most talented people in media. And like I said, it’s just going to be fun to be out there with my best friend…”
Parkins’ immediate future on the network might only be five hours a week, but they clearly value his voice enough to put him on a show that’s been undeniably successful. So much so, it won an Awfulie in 2024 and pretty much solved the sports debate TV show problem, even as fewer and fewer sports shows are actually on-air.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.